Belle Poupée_c6_archive:6. The Sudden Intruder

 

Belle Poupée

6. The Sudden Intruder

"Yes, that's right! I'm sorry for asking something so strange."

"Is there something wrong with him?"

"Despite his popularity as a mercenary knight, his true identity remains a mystery. His real name, background—nothing is known. But he has such beautiful silver hair that it's rumored he's somehow related to the Orlesian family. When you think of beautiful silver hair, you definitely think of the Orlesian family!"

"Well..."

Leticia didn't change her expression, instead placing her hand gently near her mouth—though inwardly, she was relieved.

Leticia was holding a ring on her right hand. The sapphire-colored stone attached to it was known as the "Reversal Magic Artifact," a family heirloom of the Orlesian house.

Despite her delicate appearance, Leticia had a natural affinity for ice magic. It would have been fine if she had just perfected the magic on her own, but she had declared that she would disguise herself as a mercenary knight, which caused a huge uproar in the Orlesian family. Her mother’s opposition had been particularly fierce.

"What will you do if your true identity is revealed? You won’t be able to find a husband." For three days and nights, Leticia was lectured, but she was not the type to be swayed. Noblesse oblige—if she had the power to help people, it would be a waste to squander it. She wasn’t trying to become a knight, she explained; it was simply to help people. "Don’t worry," she ended up saying, trying to convince them.

In the end, her father had brought out the Orlesian family heirloom to settle the matter.

The "Reversal Magic Artifact."

As its name implied, it could reverse the user's body, changing them into the opposite gender. Leticia used it to change from a woman into a man, assuming a completely male form.

No one would ever suspect that the beautiful mercenary knight was the Orlesian family’s delicate "doll princess."

「So I thought, but to think someone would recognize me as related to the Orlesian family just from my hair. Being beautiful can be troublesome. I doubt they’ve confirmed it yet, but if someone knows about the family heirloom, it could be dangerous. Ugh, this is giving me a headache.」

Leticia traced the stone on her ring and sighed softly, careful not to be noticed.

At that moment, the door to the store was suddenly thrown open, and five rough-looking men, clearly out of place in this setting, barged in. The atmosphere in the store shifted immediately. They surveyed the room and then, without hesitation, made their way straight to Leticia’s table—no, to Ari-chan.

Could they be acquaintances?

Leticia glanced at Ari-chan, who, upon seeing them, had wide eyes full of shock. It was immediately obvious that they were uninvited guests.

"It’s been a while, Ari-chan. How have you been?" (mercenary)

 

"...What do you want? If you’re going to come in, you should at least go through the proper check-in procedure."

"Don’t be so cold. I came all this way to see you."

With a loud thud, one of the men placed his feet on the table and grabbed Ari-chan’s chin. How rude! A flash of irritation crossed Leticia’s forehead, but remembering to maintain her Belle-Poupée persona, she refrained from reacting too strongly, only giving them a disapproving glare.

"Laura-sama, who are these men?"

"Ah... um..."

"Laura-sama?"

The girl who had been so cheerfully laughing just moments ago was now trembling, her hands clenched tightly as she looked down, trying to suppress her fear. Something serious was going on.

 

Leticia placed her hand over Laura’s and offered her a comforting smile.

"Belle-sama..."

"It’s okay. I’m here with you."

If they were to harm Leticia, the Orlesian family would not stay silent. Besides, Gilbert, the second prince, was here too. Causing a scene would only bring trouble. They wouldn’t be foolish enough to do that.

It seemed that Laura understood this.

In reality, there was no problem. Leticia was a top-tier mercenary knight, and there was no danger to her. But still, Laura, reassured, took a deep breath and whispered to Leticia.

Apparently, these men had been regulars at the establishment before Gilbert’s influence had made it a higher-class venue. Gilbert's work improved the place's quality, raising prices and making it inaccessible for a while. Now, seeing them back was a surprise. However, given their harsh demeanor and their habit of mistreating the staff, Laura couldn't suppress her resentment at their return.

Leticia realized then that it wasn’t hard to understand why Laura would be frightened.

Leticia gently patted her head, guiding her behind her, and began observing the men’s behavior closely.

There was no way they had suddenly saved up money just to return to the store. The way they hadn’t been causing trouble before, it was clear that Gilbert’s pressure had kept them in check.

So why were they acting so arrogant now?

"Do you know who you’re misbehaving in front of?" Gilbert asked, his voice calm yet sharp.

"Oh, come on. We know who you are, Prince Gilbert."

Gilbert, brushing off the hand on his chin, stood up. But the men didn’t hesitate and grabbed his arm.

Is he mad? What in the world are they thinking!? Leticia with her eyes wide, thought to herself.

He was, after all, the second prince. They should be apologizing immediately, or at the very least, bowing down to show respect. But it wasn’t just Leticia who thought this way. From the murmurs of the bystanders watching from a distance, it was clear they were surprised too.

"What do you think you’re doing? You should let me handle this, right? Let go of him!"

"Alisha, stay back."

The men didn’t flinch at all, and Gilbert stared coldly at the one who dared to touch him.

Eunie: I'll post the remaining chapters for the main story today!~

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